Sébastien Fournier

Countertenor

A precocious artist, he studied at the Lyon Conservatory and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. At the age of 22, a series of surgeries abruptly halted his career and led to a period of severe aphasia. His determination to return to the stage set him on a long path of vocal reconstruction; he studied and tested numerous classical and alternative methods which, defying all odds, allowed a new, pure, and powerful voice to gradually re-emerge.

“Limpid, crystalline, almost mysterious, Sébastien Fournier’s voice rises up and instantly captivates the ear, instinctively stirring emotion.” – E. Marshall, La Vie

At the age of 32, he resumed singing with major ensembles such as “Les Arts Florissants,” “Les Musiciens du Louvre,” and “Accentus.” as a choral singer, and later having fully regained his voice as a soloist with "Opéra Fuoco" and the programs of the ensemble Sprezzatura, which he founded in 2004. He performs at numerous festivals in France and abroad, including in the Czech Republic, China, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Ghana... www.sprezzatura.fr

The ensemble has represented France at the World Expo and performs regularly in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Dalian, etc.) notably in Macau, where he launched the first sacred art festival in partnership with the Alliance Française and the Ricci Institute. With Sprezzatura, he seeks to highlight the potential dialogues between various art forms within unconventional settings. To this end, he collaborates with renowned choreographers such as Jean Gaudin and Paco Decina, as well as visual artists like Mauro Corda, Patrick de Wilde, and Pierre-Yves Trémois...

These encounters have profoundly influenced his singing and performance style, leading him to focus his work on the quality of movement and the purity of the vocal line.

He has recorded three CDs: Henry Purcell (Hybrid Music), Vivaldi/Pergolesi (Harmonia Mundi), and the role of Athamas in Handel’s “Semele” (Pierre Vérany).

Her preferred repertoire ranges from the monodies of Pérotin the Great, Hildegard von Bingen, and the “Llibre Vermell de Montserrat” to the operas of Handel, Vivaldi, and Britten… not to mention contemporary works.

In the theater, he recently played the role of the fictional castrato "Vivaldino" in the play "Folie Baroque" at the Funambule in Paris, and is preparing a new stand-up show exploring the diversity of voices and personalities throughout history.

He is currently producing two shows: one centered on Baroque masters and another focusing on the dialogue between cultures. With Sprezzatura, he is preparing an album of medieval pilgrimage songs. Finally, he plans to record an album of 20th-century French art songs with Thierry Escaich.

He served as Musical Director of the Macau Sacred Arts Festival (People's Republic of China) from 2016 to 2018 and of the Žďár nad Sázavou Festival (Czech Republic) from 2012 to 2019; he is the Musical Director of the Mosaïques Festival in Ervy-le-Châtel for the 2022–2023 season.

           

 

Video clips

Lamento de la Ninfa - Monteverdi
Early music / World music fusion Sprezza World Project by Sprezzatura available now!
Featuring Sébastien Fournier (Countertenor), Malika Abbes (Percussion), Jacques Saint-Yves (Violin), Marie Guillaumy (Viola da Gamba), Richard Razafindrakoto (Piano), Pierre Baillot (Duduk).

 

MEMORY - Sébastien Fournier, Sprezzatura and Michel Deneuve, Cristal Baschet